Sweet November
by swivelchair
Summary: AU OOC – Based on the movie Sweet November. Draco Malfoy is a very busy man. That is, until a certain bushyhaired woman changed all of that. She only needed a month to change his life, forever. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! This is a nice story. :
1. Clarifications First

**Sweet November**

**Summary: **AU / OOC – Based on the movie _Sweet November. _Draco Malfoy is a very busy man. That is, until a certain bushy-haired woman changed all of that. She only needed a month to change his life, forever.

**Clarifications before we begin the story:**

1. This is an out-of-character (OOC) story. Meaning the characters here are not who they are in canon. It is also in an alternate universe (AU) which means that the things that happened in canon would most probably NOT happen in this story.

2. Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger went to different schools. Let's just assume that Draco's father got his wish and Draco was able to study at Durmstrang.

3. The story will basically follow the plot and storyline of the movie _Sweet November. _It would not however copy it word for word. You will find several dialogues that were in the movie in this fiction so as to be consistent with the story.

4. This story is not beta-ed. My current beta is not a fan of a DHr pairings so all mistakes in this story are mine. Not unless you want to beta this story for me.

5. To my HHr shippers / readers, I am doing a Sweet November story with an HHr pairing but I'm posting it at PK. Go check it out once it's done being beta-ed.

6. Finally, this is a love story that I hope would make you guys go, "Squeee!"


	2. The Busy Man

**Sweet November**

**Summary: **AU / OOC – Based on the movie _Sweet November. _Draco Malfoy is a very busy man. That is, until a certain bushy-haired woman changed all of that. She only needed a month to change his life, forever.

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**Chapter 1 – The Busy Man **

_7:00 AM_

Draco Malfoy woke to the sound of his alarm clock going off in his own flat in Muggle London. It was Monday morning, the day of his big meeting to close a big deal in his own company. He woke in a tangle of sheets and legs. He woke with Pansy Parkinson's arms around him.

Carelessly, he tossed her aside and mumbled, "That was good. Last night was good." Pansy merely groaned and laid back on the sheets.

Quickly, Draco went into the bathroom for a very quick shower. After that, he went to get dressed in his muggle suit and donned it with his silk black robes. Then he prepared his coffee while swiftly scanning the front page of the _Daily Prophet. _

Pansy got up and dressed in one of Draco's shirt. She walked over to Draco and tried to kiss him. Draco eluded her and went to the living room when he heard someone Flooed. Pansy simply pouted, turned around and went to get herself a glass of orange juice from the refrigerator.

"Yeah?" said Draco briskly, crouching in front of the fireplace.

"Draco, my man, finally. Why are you still there? We are running late with this business meeting you have. Remember you need to be at the office by 8AM for the deal? Your meeting is at 9AM and you still have a couple of papers to review before our presentation," said Blaise Zabini on the other end.

"You could have just used your cellphone, Blaise. You know, love your own."

"Well, I opted for the traditional Wizarding way. And like I said, I need you in the office pronto."

"Yeah, Blaise. I'm on my way. Woke up rather late. I'll meet you there," replied Draco while tying his Italian leather black shoes.

"I'll see you, mate," and with that, Blaise cut off the connection.

Draco then got up and went to the small table in his living room to get several parchments of reports he needed to bring to his office that morning.

"We need to talk," said Pansy that had Draco stopping in his ruffling the parchments. He looked up at Pansy without saying anything.

Pansy sighed and said, "Why are you like this, Draco? You're always drowning yourself in your work. You hardly have any time for me or for anything for that matter."

Expressionless, Draco replied, "Last night was time, Pansy. I gave you time last night." Then he went back to shuffling and fixing the reports.

Pansy rolled her eyes and sat back down on the sofa in his living room. "My parents are coming this Friday. I need you to be with me that night for a family dinner."

"I can't," responded Draco blankly, without looking at Pansy. "I have a late meeting that night with one of my important clients. I can't miss that or The Malfoy Enterprises might lose one of its biggest accounts."

"Can't you even stop and think about something else rather than your precious Malfoy Enterprises? Can't you have a life for once?" asked Pansy exasperatedly.

"Well, Pansy. Just so you know. This is my career. This is my life. This is my everything," said Draco impassively. And with that, he straightened up, parchments in one hand and Disapparated.

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Once in the Malfoy Enterprises, Draco was greeted almost by everyone he passed. Him, being the President and CEO, not to mention the owner of the company. At such a young age of 27, Draco was of course one of the most sought after bachelor in Wizarding Britain, despite his relationship with Pansy.

Draco's physique had developed and was essentially one of the reasons why most ladies would want to have him. Gray eyes with flecks of blue, which can turn into dark gray when he's mad or thinking something of importance or silver-gray when he's feeling light-hearted and happy. White-blond hair that is simply silky and divine to the touch. And his body, tall and lean, not so muscular but enough to make a lot of girls and ladies swoon.

As he went up to his office in the topmost floor of his 30-storey building, he was met up by Blaise Zabini along the way. Blaise was his right-hand man in the company. He's the executive Vice-President for Marketing, the one in-charge of the getting big accounts and makes sure that they stay with the company.

"You still have to see these blasted reports that Mike just handed last Saturday. You weren't able to review these and should or shouldn't be a part of our meeting later, depending on what you think after going over these reports," said Blaise, walking along side him, showing him several parchments.

"Here you go, Mr. Malfoy sir. Your coffee and today's posts," Marge, Draco's secretary handed over to Draco as he went in his office.

"Thank you Marge. Kindly buzz me in when Mr. Rogers is already here. Let Mike and the rest of the team lead him and whoever he's with to the biggest conference room on the 22nd floor. Serve coffee or whatever for the meantime," ordered Draco, then he sat on his plush leather office chair in front of his large mahogany table.

"Yes, sir." And with that, Marge went out of the office, closing the door as she left.

Blaise shook his head and grinned at his best-friend since childhood. "You sure know how to boss around some people now, huh? It's really in your nature," he teased.

"Sod off, Zabini. Now, where are those bloody reports that you said Mike just turned in last Saturday?" asked Draco, while checking out the posts he got that day.

"Oh, impatient aren't we, Mr. Malfoy sir?"

Draco glared at his best friend and Blaise laughed. "Easy, easy. Here," said Blaise while handling over the reports over to Draco.

"Our stocks are down by a couple of millions of Galleons as of last week," he continued. "Thanks to that damn Jalies Industries. I was quite appalled when I saw that report. No wonder, Mike turned it in late. But you can't say that to Mr. Rogers later or we'll lose another big account. I just want you to know for your information." Draco just nodded and continued to study the report while Blaise kept on explaining a point here and there about the report.

Just then, Marge buzzed in and said that Mr. Rogers was already waiting for them in the Conference Room.

"Well, let's go down and close a deal," said Draco while Blaise followed him out of his office.

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The meeting went well and Draco was able to close another account, yet again. With the help of Blaise of course. Even if he was already the CEO of his company, he makes sure that he handles the most important and top accounts of their company so as not to tarnish the image Malfoy Enterprises already had.

The Malfoy Enterprises' specialty is in handling the latest technology by Muggles that can be used by the Wizarding folk. They buy the latest Muggle technology, like cellular phones, PDAs, laptops and computers, to name just a few, and incorporate some magic in them for use of the Wizarding world. They export as well to other parts of the world which makes The Malfoy Enterprises one of the top corporations not only in Europe but worldwide as well.

Unlike most rumors, Draco was certainly not into the Dark Arts. In fact, he abhorred it since he grew up seeing his father so devoted to that and what became of his father because of that. When his father died when he was only 19 and named him the sole heir to everything the Malfoys owned, he dedicated himself to doing everything in his willpower not to follow his father's footsteps to the shock of many.

One example of this was his establishing The Malfoy Enterprises which specializes in Muggle Technology. He even hired several Muggles that he interacts with everyday, for better understanding of his business to much consternation of most of his relatives. But what could they do? He was after all, _The _Draco Malfoy.

Lunch time rolled around and Draco was holed up in his office reviewing reports and checking his emails from clients abroad. Blaise knocked an hour after lunch break, and hearing no response from the big boss, invited himself inside.

"My, my. You sure are working that arse of yours off!" Blaise chuckled while sitting in one of the plush sofas in Draco's office. Draco grunted at Blaise's greeting but continued nonetheless on what he was doing.

"What do you want, Blaise?" asked Draco after a couple of minutes, turning in his swivel chair and facing Blaise on his sofa.

Blaise stood up and walked towards the door. "Since you're not lunching, come with me. I need you to check out the latest materials that were brought in before we head them over towards the maintenance department."

Draco stood and followed Blaise outside his office towards the 14th floor where the goods were stored.

Upon arriving at the said floor, greetings of "Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Zabini, sirs" and "We hope you find the merchandises to your satisfaction" were heard. Blaise smiled warmly upon every worker they passed and greeted them as well while Draco gave his usual curt smile and brief nod of the head.

Blaise then showed Draco towards the examination room to see the latest goods they got from Apple and Microsoft. Draco examined these with occasional questions from the technician present. After a while, Marge came bursting in and told Draco about exam for his renewal of Apparition license scheduled that afternoon at 4PM.

"Could you re-schedule it, Marge? I need to still go over these materials before turning them in," he said, not looking up.

"Mr. Malfoy, sir," began Marge. "If you want to be picked up later when you Apparate home because you don't have a license, then by all means – do not take the exam this afternoon. The only schedule I could re-schedule you is next month. A good 30 days from now," she finished with an air of finality.

Draco sighed and stood up, gesturing for Marge to leave them for a while and telling her that he will take the damn exam.

Blaise watched the whole exchange with amusement. When Draco's secretary left, he laughed out loud. "Bloody hell, that woman of yours sure knows her stuff!"

"That's why I hired her. She's very efficient and like you said 'knows her stuff.' I have to take that bloody exam then, Blaise. I'll leave you here to deal with these materials. You know what I want and when I get back, I want these things in order, clear?" said Draco while straightening his suit and robes and walking out of the room.

Blaise mock-saluted him. "Crystal, sir!"

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Draco Apparated inside The Ministry of Magic atrium. He went through the usual process of the guard examining his wand, then proceeded towards the stuffed elevator with inter-office notes flying above them and stepped outside Level 6, the Department of Magical Transport for his exam.

He removed his robe and folded them neatly in his arms before walking towards the receptionist and asking about the scheduled exam for the renewal of Apparition license. The witch didn't look up from her magazine and told him to proceed to room 623. The exam will take place in a little while.

Draco glared for a second at the witch at the reception before walking away but she continued to read her _Witch Weekly _not realizing that the "most sought after bachelor" as written in the magazine she was reading was standing in front of her.

Draco found the room all right and settled at the back. The room was in a typical classroom set-up with tables and chairs. He tried to wait patiently for the examination to start to no avail. He kept glancing at his expensive platinum gold wristwatch every now and then.

Having nothing better to do except wait, he looked around and observed everyone around him. No one seemed to know who he was in that room so he relaxed a bit and sat still, occasionally breathing deeply as he waited.

Then suddenly, someone caught his attention. A woman, close his age, entered the room. She was wearing a multi-colored cardigan over her white shirt with a colorful scarf around her neck, a gypsy skirt to match with a pair of black leather boots to complete the outfit. She didn't have the usual wizarding robes about her like him. She was holding two paper grocery bags, with a chocolate bar that she's biting on her mouth. On her way to the seat, the one nearest Draco, she accidentally dropped one of her bags and her groceries rolled over the floor.

"Could you hand me over that, please?" she asked, looking over at Draco while pointing to something at his feet.

He looked down and saw a foot-long salami near his left foot. Silently, he picked it up and handed it over to the woman. The woman grinned and gushed, "Thanks!" And then she settled on her seat, hiding the chocolate bar inside her cardigan. She also took out her wand and waved it so that her groceries became small enough to fit into her pocket.

Draco snorted quietly. _Should have thought of that before creating a commotion in this classroom and drawing attention to herself._

"You may begin," the proctor in the front called after handling out the exams.

Draco looked down on his test paper and after reading a few questions, frowned. _What the bloody hell are these?_

He looked around at all the others and saw most of them answering the exam. He scratched his head and turned back to his own paper. He glanced up once more and saw the woman he handed the salami over eating her chocolate secretly while answering the exams.

"Hey," he whispered. The woman looked up for a second but turned back down on her paper. "Hey," he whispered again, this time a little louder.

The woman turned in her seat to look at him questioningly. "Number 09, true or false?" he asked.

She looked back down to check on her paper then turning back to Draco, she said in a low voice, "Sorry, can't tell you."

Then all of a sudden, the proctor shouted, "Hey! You!"


	3. The FreeSpirited Woman

**Chapter 2 – The Free-Spirited Woman**

Hermione Granger walked down the street swiftly towards the abandoned telephone booth holding two grocery bags in her arms, a bar of chocolate in her mouth. It's almost 4:00PM. _Damn! I can't be late! I need to take that exam!_

She arrived just in time, a couple of minutes before the exam was to start. When she went to the room where the exam was to be taken, she took a look around to find a seat. She saw one near the back and was intrigued by the man who was sitting near it since he looked definitely out-of-place in that examination room in his crisp, black suit, his robes folded neatly in front of him but definitely good-looking.

She walked towards him to take her seat but just as she was nearing him, she suddenly dropped one of her grocery bags. _Bloody hell! Why now, of all times? _She immediately went down on her knees to gather the groceries that fell over.

"Could you hand me that, please?" she asked of the man in the black suit, gesturing towards the salami that was near his left foot, while gathering the other groceries back into her grocery bag.

The man in the suit picked up the salami gingerly and handed it over to her. "Thanks," she gushed and grinned at him. Then she took her seat and hid the chocolate bar in her cardigan. She also waved her wand towards her groceries and placed them in her pockets. _There. I should have done that a while ago. Oh well._

"You may begin," the proctor in the front called after handling out the exams.

Hermione looked down on her test paper. She smiled when she saw the first question. _This is easy! Such a piece of cake! _She got out her chocolate bar, took a bite of it and started to answer her exam.

"Hey," someone suddenly whispered behind her. She looked up but when she thought that she imagined it, went back to her test paper. "Hey," someone whispered again, this time a little louder. She stopped writing and looked at her back to find the man in the black suit gesturing for her. She looked at him questioningly, frowning a bit.

"Number 09, true or false?" the man asked.

She looked back at her own paper. Then she turned back to the man in the black suit and said in a low voice, "Sorry, can't tell you."

Then all of a sudden, the proctor shouted, "Hey! You!"

Both Hermione and the man in the black suit sat up straight and looked around. Everybody tensed in their seats and turned to look at the two of them. The proctor cleared his throat and pointed at Hermione. She looked incredulously at him, pointed at herself and mouthed, "Me?"

"Yes, you," the proctor said sternly. "Come here and bring your test paper as well."

Hermione turned to look at the man in the suit only to find him looking at anywhere but her. She huffed and grudgingly stood and walked towards the front, clutching her paper. Before handling her paper to the proctor, she said, "Come on now, sir. I wouldn't do anything as cheat in an exam like this. Why would I?"

The proctor snatched the test paper from her hand and told her, "You may take the exam again in 30 days."

"30 days! But that's –" she stopped, mid-sentence when the proctor ripped her test paper in two.

"I said – you may take the test again in 30 days. Now, please leave," said the proctor, gesturing for the door.

Hermione breathed in deeply while glaring at the black suit man on her way out.

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Draco was quite fascinated with the scene inside the examination room just a little while ago. It's was a little over 5:30PM and he just finished the test. He walked outside the Ministry towards the Apparition points when he saw the woman in the exam room blocking his way. He was about to tell her off when his phone suddenly rang.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"I checked all the materials and all is well. I had it stocked for your final approval tomorrow," said Blaise on the other end.

"Good. Anything else that needs my immediate concern?" he asked, tone serious once more. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the woman skipping and blocking his way deliberately. He motioned for her to stop and move.

"None at the moment. Not unless you want to go over Jessica's reports before turning in for the day."

"All right, Blaise. Is that all?" he said positively infuriated at the woman in front of him now.

"Yes and also –"

"Thanks, Blaise. I'll see you in 15," and with that, Draco hung up.

He then walked towards the Apparition points and glowered at the woman blocking his way. "Get off of my way," he said forcefully.

The woman simply looked at him, blinking twice. "Hmmm?"

"I said, get off of my way."

"Oh," she said while looking down the pathway. "Is this way yours then?"

"No, but you're blocking it so get off it," he said. But the woman remained where she was and replied, "Hmm... Not yours then so why should I get off? Nice suit, by the way. And your robes, my, my. You must have a lot of money."

Draco closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to control his temper. When he opened his eyes, the woman was staring at him curiously, her head cocked at one side. Slowly, she smiled. "Problem, sir?"

"What do you need?"

"Pardon?"

"I said, _what_ do _you_ need?" asked Draco impatiently.

"Oh, nothing, kind sir. Just that I really needed to take that exam to renew my license a while ago but –," she sighed. "I can't now and I have to wait 30 days more before I could Apparate on my own," the woman said then turned to smile at him sarcastically.

Draco, infuriated, got his wallet out and pulled his business card. "Here," he tossed it to the woman, interpreting her actions the wrong way. "If you need money or anything, I'll give you some. Just get out of my bloody way!" And with that, he pushed the woman aside roughly, headed for the Apparition points and Apparated back to his office.

"Now, that's totally rude," said Hermione to herself but picked up the business card anyway. She read it and smiled mischievously. She then pocketed it and walked over to the Floo gates to Floo home.

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A week had passed and Draco was in a very good mood. He closed another deal just last night and was glad of the outcome of the meeting. He didn't get to see much of Pansy's insistent whining either which suited him just fine. Their stocks were up by 3 this week and that is saying something. So all in all, Draco's week ended up fine.

Saturday morning, he was up early and doing his early morning exercise when his buzzer suddenly rang. Draco, not used to having company such early in the morning, grunted on his way to his door. He quickly donned on a black muscle shirt since he was bare-chested.

He pushed the button of his video-buzzer (a product of his own company) only to see the concierge in his flat buzzing him. He breathed in deeply and said, "What is it, Marco? What do you need so early this morning?"

"Monsieur, there is a lady down here who insistently wishes to see you. I told her that you are not to be disturbed at this hour but she is so persistent!" said Marco, with a slight French accent, at the other end, obviously struggling with someone who wants to interfere with the video-buzzer.

"Tell her, whoever she is, that I'm busy." And with that, Draco closed his buzzer and started to walk to his kitchen. Then the buzzer started ringing again. Frustrated, Draco walked back to his door, pushed the buzzer's button and practically shouted, "What now!"

"Monsieur, I apologize for this but –" Marco didn't get to finish what it was that he wanted to say because at that instant, the woman from the Apparition exam pushed him away and greeted a stunned Draco.

"Hi!" she greeted cheerfully once in front of the video-buzzer. "I was wondering if you could let me up? This concierge of yours gives a really tough fight!"

Shocked, Draco didn't reply for a couple of seconds. _What in the world is she doing here!_

"What are you doing here?" he asked her incredulously, voicing out his thoughts.

"Oh, you said last Monday that I could come to you should I need _anything_," she said, emphasizing on 'anything.' "So I thought I would drop by since I really, really _need_ something," she smiled. When Draco didn't reply immediately, she said, "So, can I go up then to your flat?"

Draco was shook out of his reverie by that comment. "No, I'll go down there. You wait." He closed his buzzer and muttered curses under his breath as he looked around for a sweatshirt to wear over his muscle shirt.

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Hermione sighed when the video-buzzer closed. _He sure is bossy. Not to mention rude. But he's got really nice muscles. I wonder what they look like without the shirt on. _She grinned at the thought.

Looking around the lobby of the condominium she was in, she saw that the black suit man from the Apparition exam was apparently, really wealthy. Crystal chandeliers were hanging from the ceiling of the reception area. The floors are made of marbles. Exquisite paintings were hanging all around. The grand staircase is covered with red carpet. Flowers adorned every nook and cranny. People coming in and going out were dressed importantly and obviously had a lot of money.

"Wow," she breathed silently. Then she spotted the concierge looking at her disdainfully. She walked over to him and with a winning smile said, "Hi! Your name is Marco, right? I'm Hermione. It's a pleasure meeting you." She extended her hand towards the concierge.

Reluctantly, Marco held her hand in a friendly shake and started to smile as well. "Pleasure is all mine, mademoiselle."

They started talking and immediately became fast friends. Hermione gabbed and gabbed and occasionally listened to whatever it was that Marco was saying.

After a while, Draco came down, looking disgruntled and really pissed off. _But he sure is cuter when he's frowning like that. _Hermione thought and giggled to herself.

"Hi!" she said as Draco approached her, giving him one of her dazzling smiles.

"What do you want?" asked Draco, not really caring if he's being rude or not.

Hermione simply grinned at him and said while twirling in a circle, "Well… Since you told me last Monday that I could come to you for _anything_, I'm here to ask you for something."

"And that is…?" said Draco, arms folding at his chest.

"I need you to Apparate me somewhere. Since you already renewed your license and it was your entire fault I wasn't able to renew mine," she replied smugly.

Draco's jaw dropped open, disbelievingly. This girl is simply too much. _What in the world is she thinking asking that from me?_

"You what!"

"And don't worry. I need you to Apparate me tonight. At around 12 midnight. Not this morning."

"Who said that I will Apparate you to where you want to go? Did I agree already? Did I say 'yes' to what you want?" said Draco indignantly, his voice getting louder every syllable.

Hermione didn't reply immediately but narrowed her eyes slightly at Draco. "You are such an arse, do you know that? Why do you have to do this to me? Who are you keeping up there at our flat? Your mistress? How dare you!" she started to rant, her voice hitching up. "And you told me you loved me!"

Draco, alarmed at the sudden scene Hermione was trying to create tried to shush her. "Shut up, will you? Who told you to tell all those silly lies that you're saying?"

Just then, the elderly and very respectable Mr. and Mrs. Jones, owners of the biggest apothecary in Diagon Alley stepped inside the lobby. Hermione seized her chance.

"And where were you when I needed you? We had a baby, for Merlin's sake! But you left me and I had no choice but to have abortion because I couldn't support the child anyway. And now this! This! You left me for that whore you're hiding in our flat!" cried Hermione, arms flailing wildly at her sides for dramatic purposes.

Mr. and Mrs. Jones were mortified at the scene Hermione was making. But Draco was even more mortified at what Hermione was saying and how it would affect him in the community. Immediately, Marco wrote something on paper saying "Should I Floo the Hit Wizards now?" and flashed it to Draco from behind Hermione.

Draco shook his head to Marco, apologized to Mr. and Mrs. Jones then grabbed Hermione by the arms and dragged her outside. He was furious and fuming.

Once outside, he let go of Hermione and said, his voice shaking with anger, "What in Merlin's name do you think you were doing just there! Huh! What!"

Hermione, realizing that she probably went too far, simply shrugged and replied, "I just want you to side-Apparate me tonight."

Draco closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. _Count one to ten Draco. One to ten. One… Two… Three…_

Then he opened his eyes and looked at Hermione smiling sheepishly at him. "Fine," he said once he got his bearings. "I'll Apparate you tonight to wherever you need to go."

Hermione squealed and leaped with joy. She quickly hugged Draco tight and said, "Thank you!" forgetting that Draco was mad at her. "I'll be here at around 11:30 tonight. See you!" And with that she skipped away.

_What the bloody hell have I gotten myself into now? _Draco asked himself as he went in towards his flat.


	4. The Second Meeting

**Chapter 3 – The Second Meeting**

Draco paced and paced around his living room. He kept on glancing on his wall clock then paced some more. He couldn't stay still. He glanced again at the clock. It read 11:15PM. _15 minutes. She'll be here in 15 minutes. That is, if she is punctual enough. But – Damn! Why did I ever agree to her!_

At the other side of the city, Hermione was busy preparing the things that she ought to bring for her excursion with Malfoy. "Black wig, check! Dark sunglasses, check! Big scarf, check! All right. I think that's all," she said to herself, stuffing everything into her bag. She quickly glanced at her watch and saw that it was already 11:25PM. She smiled. She had enough time to Floo over Draco's flat.

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Draco was sitting down on his couch, eyes closed when his doorbell rang. He asked Marco that if that same girl arrived tonight, that he sent her up. He doesn't need another scene like that of this morning.

His doorbell rang on and on. He didn't immediately get up to open it. He opened his eyes and took a glance once more at his wall clock. 11:30PM, it read. In spite of himself, Draco was impressed. _She's punctual all right. _

Sighing, he got up and walked towards his door. He took a deep breath before opening it revealing Hermione, with a big smile on her face.

"Hi!" she said cheerfully then stepped inside Draco's flat even without invitation. "Wow," she breathed as she took a look around.

Draco groaned inwardly but closed the door behind him once Hermione was inside. He took in her appearance. She was wearing one of her gypsy skirts once more and a pair of black leather boots. She had on a coat that was unbuttoned with a white-fitting shirt inside revealing a bit of cleavage and a nice figure despite her skirt. She had a big mailman's bag slung over her shoulder. _She could be really hot, come to think of it. Whoa, Draco! Where did that come from!_

Hermione, on the other hand, continued to observe Draco's flat. She examined the fine European furniture and exquisite paintings of famous Muggle and Wizard alike painters that hung around his walls. His carpeted floor was soft to walk on. _I wonder how it feels if I walk on here barefoot. _She giggled at the thought.

Draco cleared his throat and looked expectantly at Hermione when she turned around to face him. Hermione blinked twice then smiled brightly at him. "Shall we go now then?" she asked as she sauntered over to him and hooked her arm around his.

Draco breathed in deeply. "Where to?" he asked resignedly. Hermione gave him the address of the place and with a quiet pop, both were gone.

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They appeared almost instantaneously in front of a 4-storey building in the middle of a Muggle street in Muggle London. Draco looked around apprehensively and breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw that no one was around when they Apparated.

Hermione, on the other hand, quickly dislodged herself from Draco and gave a quiet squeal of delight. She opened her mailman's bag and pulled out her black wig, dark sunglasses and big scarf. She quickly put this on to Draco's disbelief. Then she gave him a piece of parchment before running towards the building. She told him, "That's my address. Wait for me here. We're to Apparate to my flat once I'm out of this building ok?"

Without preamble, she swiftly broke in the building. Draco was left outside to wait. He stood there, not really knowing what to do. He thought of just Disapparating and leaving the woman behind but he also thought that if he did that, then she would again come after him to make another scene like that of this morning. He shuddered at the thought. He definitely didn't want a repeat of that.

After a couple of minutes though, Draco heard a crashing sound inside the building and saw Hermione hastily running out with a big sack over her shoulders aside from her mailman's bag. When she reached Draco, she immediately hooked her free arm over his and shouted, "Go!" In an instant, they Disapparated to Hermione's flat.

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Hermione sighed with relief when they arrived in front of her flat. "That was close, didn't you think so?" she asked Draco. "I was glad we got out in good time. Thanks by the way, Draco," she added smilingly.

Draco didn't reply but was surprised when Hermione spoke his name. He didn't know that she knew him when he didn't know who she was. Then he remembered that he gave her his calling card.

"And oh yeah, I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger," said Hermione while trying to look into the sack she was carrying. "You want to take a look inside?" she asked as she started to pull out whatever it was in the sack.

"Don't," started Draco, "even think about it. I don't want to know what you just stole from that building," he concluded because apparently, that's what he believed she just did.

But Hermione didn't listen to him. Draco was determined not to look at what she pulling out of the sack but turned around nonetheless when he heard her crooning to whatever it was.

Hermione was cuddling a couple of cute little Labrador puppies. "Hey there," she said. "They were very bad locking you in that pound, weren't they? Of course, I wouldn't let them; you are too cute and too lovable to be locked in there."

She turned to look at a stunned Draco and asked, "Aren't they cute?" Then she went back to the puppies. "Lookie here, Ernie," she told one of the puppies then looked back at Draco. "That man helped you escape. Isn't he sweet?"

When Draco didn't reply once more, she started to walk towards her door. Then she turned to gaze at Draco and asked him, "Would you like to come in for some hot chocolate? It's awfully cold."

"No," replied Draco. "I'll be going now. I've done your request." With that, he turned and readied himself to Disapparate.

"Wait!" said Hermione rushing towards Draco, Ernie still in her arms. "Come on," she said while pulling on Draco's arm. "Have just one hot chocolate with me and I'll never bother you again, I promise."

Reluctantly, Draco followed Hermione into her flat. Once inside, he stopped just right inside her door and took a good look. Hermione's flat was homey and cozy. All her furniture and things were obviously well used. Some of her furniture was not even matching. Her carpet was worn, there were teeth-bites and scratches on most of her tables and chairs. _Probably from some stray dog or cat she adopted. _Draco mused.

"Make yourself at home," Hermione gestured towards the living room as she dropped Ernie and the other puppy on the floor. She went to the kitchen, got out two mugs and conjured some hot chocolate to be placed in the mugs.

She went back towards the living room with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate only to find Draco standing in the middle. She tutted and shook her head. "Come on, Draco. Don't be so stiff. Sit down." Then she plopped down on one of her couches, handing one mug to Draco.

Draco, however, remained standing, holding his mug. "So, what do you do – er – Hermione?" he asked, an attempt to start a conversation.

Hermione shrugged and didn't reply this time. She sipped her hot chocolate and observed Draco. She noticed how prim and proper he seem to be although he's not really comfortable with the situation he was in. _He's so uptight. No wonder he was pretty rude to me this morning. _She thought.

"You know, you need to loosen up," she said aloud.

"Excuse me?"

"You need to loosen up. You're so uptight. You seem to be always tense like you're not really living a life. You need to loosen up, live a little. Enjoy what life has to offer you," said Hermione staring at Draco.

Draco was suddenly enraged. "Who are you to tell me that? You don't even know a thing about me," he said indignantly.

"True," replied Hermione. "But I know enough to say that you are not happy with what you are right now." She stood up and walked closer to Draco until she was face-to-face with him. "Tell you what. I have a proposition with you."

"And what is that?"

"I'll teach you how to live the right way," whispered Hermione in Draco's ear. She walked back and turned to drop off her mug in the kitchen. She took her wand out, pointed it at the sink and the mug started cleaning itself. "November is fast approaching. It's already the 26th of October." She went back to the living room and stood in front of Draco. "A month. Live with me for the whole month of November. No commitment whatsoever. But I'll be yours entirely to do, to ask of me what you please. There are some certain rules you have to abide though." She crossed her arms about her chest and smiled at Draco.

Draco, on the other hand, looked at Hermione like she was crazy. Did he just hear her right? _She's proposing that I live with her here for a month? What the bloody hell does she mean?_

"And what if I don't agree?"

Hermione shrugged. "You need it Draco, I can feel it. See it even."

"I have a girlfriend," he stated.

"I don't care. You are my priority in this."

"You're crazy," said Draco, shaking his head in disbelief. He placed his untouched hot chocolate on the coffee table on Hermione's living room and started for the front door. "Don't ever bother me again, do you hear me?" He opened the door and let himself out. "I never want to see you again." And with that, he slammed the door shut and Hermione heard a distinct soft pop signaling Draco Disapparating.

She smiled to herself. "He'll come around."

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**_(A/N - Sorry this took so long. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. More to come! Review! ;p)_**


	5. The Lost Man

**Chapter 4 – The Lost Man**

Monday morning dawned bright and clear for Draco but he was not in a very good mood due to the events that happened over the weekend. Once he got into the office, he was already in a very sour mood. Blaise met up with him once he entered the building premises, clutching several parchments.

"Draco," he said urgently. "You need to see this as soon as possible," he gestured towards the parchments he was holding together with _The Daily Prophet_. "This is big, man. Really big and you need to know this. Decision is really needed to be made after you see this."

Draco didn't reply but immediately went into his topmost office with Blaise trailing behind him. He removed his robes and sat down on his plush chair and opened up his laptop. Then he looked over at Blaise standing in front of his table.

"Well?" he asked when Blaise was not making any moves.

"Well, what?"

"Leave the papers on my table, Blaise. I'll look it over later," ordered Draco then returned to his laptop.

"But – "

"You heard me, Blaise. I'm not in the mood to argue."

Blaise sighed and placed the parchments on Draco's table. "Fine. I'll leave you to study these materials. But I need you in the board room in an hour. We'll be having a board meeting over this. Like I said, this is really big."

Draco didn't give any indication that he heard or acknowledged what Blaise said. He just sat there in front of his laptop and started to download his emails. Blaise sighed once more and left Draco's office, hoping for the best in their upcoming board meeting.

Once Blaise left, Draco slouched in his seat, closed his eyes and massaged his neck. _Damn that woman! I shouldn't be this affected by her. Not this early in the morning and the first day of work even! I've got a lot of more important matters to brew over than her._

He buzzed his intercom and told Marge to make him a cup of brewed black coffee, with no sugar and cream. He needed to ease some of the tension he was feeling. He then stood up and walked towards his ceiling-to-floor windows overlooking the whole of London when Marge went in and left his made coffee.

He started to pace after just one sip of his coffee. He had a board meeting in half an hour and he still hadn't looked over the materials that Blaise left for him. He knew that for some reason, the parchments bore no good news at all, if Blaise's tone was any indication.

He just closed a couple of big accounts last week. One that would ensure the success of their stocks for the next couple of months. The first account was already signed which made their stocks go up 3 as of last week. The other one wasn't though. The one he closed during a business dinner Friday night. That was only closed through verbal means and that account was far bigger than the first one he closed Monday morning. He was only supposed to meet with Mr. Richards, representative of the Malcolm Industries in the United States, the one he met with Friday night, tomorrow afternoon with the documents that needs to be signed to formalize the agreement. If something happened over the weekend that changed Mr. Richard's mind, then that's disaster.

And for some reason, Draco could feel that the papers Blaise brought to his office were exactly _that._

Draco was shook out of his reverie when Marge buzzed in and told him that the Board of Directors along with Mr. Blaise Zabini were already in the board room on the 25th floor waiting for him to start the meeting. Draco got up, grabbed the papers that Blaise left on his table and went towards the lifts to go to his meeting.

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There was a collective hush when Draco entered the board room. Draco simply nodded curtly and proceeded towards the head of the conference table. He sat down and placed the papers in front of him, looking expectantly at everyone.

"Well? Blaise here asked me to meet up with you regarding something that is really big, or so he puts it," started Draco in his brisk tone. "What is it that had you all so uptight so early this Monday morning?"

No one spoke for a few seconds. Everyone was nervously glancing at each other, afraid to speak up towards the President and CEO.

"Mr. Malfoy, sir," braved one director on his left side.

"Yes, Mr. Johnson?"

"Were you able to read the papers together with _The Daily Prophet_ that Mr. Zabini gave you this morning?" asked Mr. Johnson quietly.

"As you can probably see and sense, Mr. Johnson, I wasn't able to or I wouldn't be asking all of you what this is all about," replied Draco coldly. Mr. Johnson along with the other board of directors winced slightly at the bite in Draco's words. Even Blaise didn't have any words to say. "I have more important matters to attend to this morning so Mr. Johnson, if you can please just tell me what the matter is and let's get it over with."

Mr. Johnson swallowed slightly and said, "Well, sir – the business section of _The Prophet _stated that Malcolm Industries and Jalies Industries closed a big deal just yesterday…"

Draco didn't hear the rest of Mr. Johnson's words. He only heard Malcolm Industries, Jalies Industries and closed a big deal and he already understood what that meant for his beloved Malfoy Enterprises.

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Draco went home earlier than usual that day. The meeting that morning didn't go well as he expected. He told his secretary and Blaise that he was having an early day because he was having a huge headache. Everything seemed to be going down hill.

_Ever since that woman showed up! _He knew that Hermione wasn't the reason but he couldn't find anyone else to blame. He got no one else to blame but himself but he just couldn't accept that fact.

When he went inside his flat, he immediately went to his couch and lay down with his eyes closed. After a few while, he heard some rustling from his bedroom and turned towards the noise.

"Pansy. It's just you. I though it was someone else," he sighed and stood up to face her. "Today was such a miserable day at The Enterprise. I was so surprised when Blaise –" he stopped mid-sentence upon seeing Pansy entirely.

Pansy stood there, in front of Draco's bedroom, a traveling bag in one hand and a trolley bag in the other. She was looking very solemn and didn't say anything.

"Pans, what are you doing?"

"I'm leaving Draco," she stated.

"Leaving? For your parents' house or for a vacation or something?" asked Draco, incredulously eyeing Pansy's traveling bags. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"No. For good, Draco. I'm leaving you for good." And with that, Pansy sashayed out of his flat and with a soft pop, Disapparated to Merlin-knows-where.

Draco stood there in the middle of his living room, astounded. Could this day get any worse? He just lost a big account this morning, going with it almost 9 of his stocks and his girlfriend just broke up with him, if what she said were any true.

"Bloody hell…" said Draco quietly as he slumped once again in his sofa, closed his eyes and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

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_Thursday, October 31._

So far, Draco's mood hasn't improved since Monday. He kept on snapping at several people in his company which made the atmosphere in the Malfoy Enterprises dismal. His temper and patience were short that he even yelled at Blaise during a meeting. He was in such a sour mood by the end of Thursday afternoon that everyone didn't want to cross his path.

Blaise, in a gentle voice, told him that afternoon to have an early day once more and to just go home and rest and he'll handle everything from there. Draco, exhausted, agreed and apologized for acting like a big arse that whole week.

"Don't worry about that, mate. I understand what you're going through. We'll be able to pull ourselves once more after this. Remember – we just lost one account. That's just one. We have a lot of other clients that we could approach," said Blaise smilingly, clapping Draco at the back.

"You know how I want things done in here, Blaise. I'm counting on you."

"No problem. Now, you just get back home and rest," prodded Blaise on. And with that, Draco grabbed his silken robes and Apparated to his flat.

Once in his flat, he immediately went to his living room and sprawled on his couch. After a few quiet moments, someone rang his door. Groaning and muttering, he walked towards his video buzzer and seeing Marco there had him shouting, "What!"

"Monsieur, I am so sorry but there is a package that came in just now for you," said Marco, obviously struggling with the big package he was holding.

"Why didn't you just leave it downstairs wherein I could just pick it up later?" snarled Draco.

"I am so sorry, Monsieur. But this package couldn't be left downstairs. It's too important as the messenger said," explained Marco.

"Fine. Leave it by my doorstep, Marco. I'll come for it later."

"But Monsieur – "

"I said leave it!" yelled Draco. Marco almost dropped the package but didn't argue anymore and left the big package in front of Draco's doorstep, hurrying out of Draco's sight afterwards.

Draco sighed and started to walk back towards his living room when he heard a whining sound just outside his door. He stopped in his tracks and then he heard the same sound again. Curious, he opened his front door and inspected the package that Marco left. The whining sound was coming from the package. Draco untied the ribbon of the package and saw the words "NOVEMBER" scribbled on top of the package. When he opened it, he saw Ernie, the dog he and Hermione rescued from the pound jump out of the box to lick his face.

Draco held the dog in front of him, disgusted. _That woman wouldn't stop at anything! Who does she think she is! _He thought as he placed Ernie back in his box. Tying the ribbon back, he Apparated to Hermione's flat to return Ernie.

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_**(A/N – I am so sorry this came in so late! I hope you all forgive me and that this chapter is good enough for all of you. I'll try to update sooner. Mwah! Mwah! Merry Christmas everyone!)**_


	6. The Explanation to Feel

**Chapter 5 – The Explanation to Feel**

Draco was seething when he arrived at Hermione's doorstep. He stomped his foot at her door since he couldn't knock properly due to the package he was holding. He heard a distinct "Just a minute!" come from inside Hermione's flat and the sound of footsteps immediately walking towards the front door. When Hermione opened the door, she was not really surprised to find Draco furious but amused to see a little of pink tingeing his pale face.

"Why, Draco! You're a day early! I wasn't expecting you till tomorrow!" exclaimed Hermione, opening her door a little wider. "Is that Ernie?" she asked, eyeing the package that Draco was holding, trying not to jump up and down on her bare feet. Then she opened it, gasped and grabbed the puppy inside, "Oh! It is Ernie! Oh, I'm so happy to see you, Ernie. Did you miss me? Did you miss mommy?" Then she gestured towards Draco, "Come on in and do put that package down. It's ruining your expensive silk shirt." She walked a little inside to let Draco have some space to get in. "So, did you rethink my offer?"

Draco dropped the package near Hermione's feet and didn't come in. Instead, he closed his eyes, took a deep calming breath but snarled anyway, "Look, stop this nonsense of yours trying to get me to stay with you for a month. Stop sending me packages to try and convince me. Stop even contacting me. The last thing I need right now is to play a Hermione Granger mad-hatter game!" With that said, he started to turn around to Disapparate back to his flat when he felt a hand on his arm, stopping him.

"Look, Draco," said Hermione softly after carefully placing Ernie on the floor so as not to tarnish her white spaghetti-strapped sundress. "You're tired and you're tense, I can feel it. Why don't you come on in for a minute and I'll make you some tea, ok?"

"What are you after, huh? What do you want from me?" retorted Draco menacingly, pulling his arm away from Hermione's touch.

Hermione didn't reply but sniffed the air around Draco then took his hand and pulled him inside her flat. "I think you should come with me," she said not answering Draco's questions. Draco stumbled a bit but had no choice but to follow Hermione. Her grip was pretty powerful for a woman.

They arrived at Hermione's bathroom and Hermione started to remove Draco's watch then threw it afterwards in the trash basket. "I'm not really fond of watches," she explained. Draco was simply too stunned to speak when Hermione did that. "So, what happened to you all week?" asked Hermione conversationally.

"What happened to me? I lost a big account. Going with it 9 percent of my stocks. And my girlfriend left me," he said the last part quietly.

"Ahh… Perfect."

Draco looked at Hermione incredulously. "Perfect? Perfect! Would you define perfect!"

"Well," started Hermione, removing the already loose tie around Draco's neck. "Tomorrow's the start of November – our month to be together."

"You're actually _really _serious about this, are you?"

"Oh yeah. Very," said Hermione, nodding while she threw the expensive silk tie in her trash basket once more.

"You think that I'm just going to throw everything – ?"

"I hate to bust your bubble, but it seems like you already have, Draco," she said cutting Draco off in mid-sentence while she looked at him, her head tilted at the sides.

"Live here? For a month while you mess around with my head, is that it?" he asked sarcastically, shaking his head at her.

Hermione pondered for a moment then shrugged. "Well, I don't know if you should put it that way but," then she smiled, " – yeah, I think that's what you should do."

"So, whatever this is that you're calling…"

"Help," said Hermione matter-of-factly while she started to undo the buttons of Draco's silk shirt.

"Help…" trailed Draco. Then he asked, "What are you doing?" when he finally noticed that Hermione's undressing him.

"Taking your shirt off," she said, smiling mischievously.

"Why?" he asked quietly once more. Hermione didn't reply but continued on undressing him. "Why?" he repeated, louder this time.

Hermione removed the tucked, unbuttoned shirt from his pants and slid it off his shoulders. Then she looked him in the eye and said seriously, "Because you smell like a stinking puppy." With that, she took his silk shirt and left Draco in the bathroom, closing the door on her way out.

Draco stood there, in the middle of Hermione's bathroom, not really knowing what to do. He went to the trash basket and got his expensive watch out and looked dubiously towards the door. Then he turned to face the mirror just above the sink and looked at his reflection. There were slight circles under his eyes and his skin already had an unhealthy color. Yes, he was pale but one could see that the stress of his lifestyle was starting to get to him.

He opened the faucet and splashed cold water on his face and neck, massaging the back of his neck. He looked once again at his reflection and said, "Just tonight. Just for tonight…"

Meanwhile, Hermione was in the kitchen spraying _Mrs. Skower's All Purpose Cleaner _on Draco's shirt. She sniffed it then scrunched her nose. Then she walked towards the living room, clutching the shirt in her hand. She stopped by the calendar on her wall and tore the October so that it now showed November. She smiled while thinking of what may come ahead. She got her wand from the pocket of her dress and waved it in the air, smiling in satisfaction when soft music sounded off from nowhere. It had started to rain outside. _Perfect. _She thought as she smiled once more to herself.

Then she heard soft footsteps on her carpeted floor walking towards the living room. When she turned, Draco stood there, shirtless, facing her. They stared at one another for a few moments before Hermione lowered her eyes. Draco walked towards her and when he was in front of her, Hermione raised her arms to dress Draco of his silk shirt, not really looking at his face. But Draco lifted her chin up with his left hand for her to look at him. Then slowly, he lowered his lips towards her.

Hermione instantly closed her eyes, feeling Draco kissing her while she kissed him back. Draco after a short while pulled back a little to study Hermione's smiling and contented face. Hermione still had her eyes closed when Draco swooped down once more to capture her lips in a more heated and deeper kiss. She dropped Draco's shirt on the floor when the kiss deepened.

Draco then started to pull up her dress to her waist feeling her up when Hermione protested, trying to pull back down her dress, still with her eyes closed. "Hey, hey… Draco… Go slow. Slowly, ok? We have all night…" She pulled back, opened her eyes to gaze searchingly at Draco. She saw a hunger, a need in those deep gray orbs of his. A need to feel. A longing to be human once more.

Hermione cupped his face with her hands and gently pulled him back to her in a sweet and gentle kiss. "Slowly, Draco. Slow…" Draco was not contented though. He immediately deepened the kiss and started to push Hermione down on the couch.

"Whoa. Wait, wait, Draco. This is not very comfortable," she said breathlessly, when Draco started nibbling his way down her jaw and neck, her back arched uncomfortably on the couch. "Draco, I said wait." Then she pushed him back.

"What?" he asked, looking at her with glazed eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he asked again and proceeded to feel Hermione's curves with his palms, trying to kiss her back once more.

"Wait, Draco. I said go slow. Gently. Slowly," said Hermione, cupping his face once more with her right hand.

Draco pulled back, shook his head several times and finally stood up. He grabbed his shirt on the floor and started to walk towards Hermione's door. "What have I gotten myself into?" he muttered to himself.

"Draco," called Hermione, standing up as well. "What's wrong? Where are you going? Draco!"

She followed him out of her flat down towards the street. The rain was pouring harder than it was a while ago. "Draco, wait! Would you please stop! Draco!"

Draco turned around, his face was quite unreadable in the rain but clearly angry. "I have no words to explain how positively _whacked _you are!" he spat out at her, turned around once more and continued walking in the rain. Both were drenched to the skin in a matter of seconds.

"What are you so pissed about all of a sudden?" pleaded Hermione, catching up with him.

"This week was hell! And the last thing I need to hear from you is telling me what to do in the sack!" he practically shouted at her.

"I'm sorry," she said in a small voice. "I'm sorry, all right? I just want to –" she said louder this time when Draco continued on walking.

Draco stopped and walked briskly back to her. "What!" he demanded. "What is it! So you could pull this little game of yours on me, huh? Is that it! This little game of the mind?" he asked, making odd movements with his arms around his head.

"It's not a game!"

"Really?" laughed Draco sarcastically. "And what exactly is this all about?"

"I am here trying to help you," explained Hermione, pleading with him to understand.

"I – don't – need – help," he retorted, emphasizing on each word.

"Draco, don't you see? This doesn't get much sweeter than this. What I'm offering you is a win-win situation," she said smilingly.

"Oh yeah? And what will you get?" he asked mockingly.

She smiled up at him, touching his face. "I get to help you."

Draco shook his head unbelievingly. "I don't understand this – this whole thing that you – "

"Draco, you don't need to understand. You don't need to understand me. You just have to let it happen," she explained, cutting him off. "Please, Draco? Don't go."

"Why not?"

"Because I know you don't want to."

They stood there, in the middle of the street, in the pouring rain, not minding it that they were soaked to the core. Draco looked around, still shaking his head in disbelief while Hermione continued to smile up at him, waiting for him to move, and knowing that she already won in the argument.

"Have you ever considered a career in sales or in marketing?" he finally asked her to which Hermione laughed.

"No."

"Well, you should. You're a natural at it," he said before walking past her back towards her flat.

Hermione smiled to herself triumphantly and jumped up and down for a while before following Draco back inside her flat.

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_**(A/N: I hope you find this chapter to your satisfaction. Please review! Thanks! Belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!)**_


	7. The Beginning

**Chapter 6 – The Beginning**

Hermione walked back towards her flat to hear Draco in her bathroom cleaning up. She smiled and went to her bedroom right across the bathroom. She started to turn down the covers on her bed. It was going to be a cold night, the rain hadn't stop pouring.

When the bathroom door opened, Hermione turned around to see Draco walking towards her bedroom. He stopped at her bedroom door hesitantly. She smiled up at him and walked towards him, held his hand and led him to her bedroom. Gingerly, Draco sat down on the edge of Hermione's bed, looking up at her expectantly.

For a couple of seconds, they stared at each other. Draco sitting down, Hermione standing up in front of him. Then softly, Hermione raised her hand and softly caressed Draco's face. Draco closed his eyes, savoring Hermione's soft touch. Then Hermione lowered her head and kissed Draco's forehead. She kissed both of his eyes, his nose, and finally her lips rested on Draco's lips.

Unlike their first kiss out in the living room, this kiss was gentle, almost loving even. They took their time exploring each other lips. When Draco licked Hermione's lower lip, she immediately opened up to him, letting him explore every crevice of her mouth. Both moaned when their tongues touched. What followed soon after was a battle of tongues. Trying to best each other, not wanting the other to win.

Draco grabbed Hermione's waist and pulled her towards him. She straddled him without breaking the kiss. Draco then began trailing soft open kisses on Hermione's jaw and neck, making her moan when he reached her pulse point. His right hand began trailing up Hermione's side from her waist, brushing momentarily on the sides of her breast, making Hermione moan once more and squirm, before resting on the back of her neck. He then tore his mouth away from Hermione's neck and went back to her lips, attacking them this time with more fervor.

Hermione pulled back after a while and looked at Draco. Draco still had his eyes closed, his lips swollen from their thorough kissing and his hair sticking out in all directions from Hermione's hands. When Draco opened his eyes, Hermione slowly smiled at him and gently traced his face with her finger. Then slowly, she placed both of her palms on Draco's chest and slowly pushed him down on her bed.

Before Hermione kissed him, Draco whispered, "Nox" and everything went into darkness.

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_November 01, Friday Morning_

Draco awoke to the smell of bacon frying in the kitchen. He staggered for a moment, trying to remember where he was and how did he get there. When the memories of what occurred last night came flooding back to him, he groaned. Then he looked at his state of dress, or in this case, _undress_, and groaned some more. He sat up beside the bed and looked for his clothes. The ones that Hermione hastily removed the night before. He looked around and found nothing but a pair of boxers on the chair beside the bed. He made a face at the cotton boxers that had little Snitches on it and was colored red and gold. He really would much rather go for silk boxers that were either black or green.

Having no choice though, he put on the red and gold boxers. He didn't want to walk starkers inside Hermione's flat even if they shared a moment last night. He went out and proceeded to where his stomach was calling him, the kitchen.

Arriving at the kitchen, Hermione was nowhere in sight. He saw that a plate of bacon and pancakes were set on the table with orange juice. He looked around for a few seconds and finally saw the coffee mugs on the kitchen counter. Putting on his watch that Hermione discarded last night, he went to the counter and poured himself some coffee.

He looked around once more and saw his cellphone lying on the living room couch. _I must have dropped it last night before I almost walked out on Hermione._ Gathering his phone, he made a quick call while going back to the kitchen to fetch his coffee.

"Yeah?" said Blaise at the other end of the line. "Where are you? I've been calling you since last night and you were not –"

"Edgar Moore," said Draco.

"What?"

"Edgar Moore. Get me a meeting with him and we'll finally have something to replace that blasted Malcolm Industries," replied Draco while sipping his coffee.

Just at that instant, Hermione arrived with a paper bag in her arms. She noticed Draco on his cellphone talking while sipping his coffee. "Hey! None of that!" she said as she tried to grab the phone from Draco while still holding on to the paper bags.

Draco, however, turned around and went to the other side of the kitchen away from Hermione just as Blaise was saying, "Brilliant Draco! Yes, I'll get Edgar Moore right away. Damn, you make the most amazing decisions all the time! So are you coming to work today?"

"I'm not sure, Blaise. But I'll try. I'll keep in touch and get me Moore, all right?" said Draco, flipping his cellphone off before Blaise could even reply. "What?" he asked when he saw Hermione pouting at him from across the kitchen.

Hermione placed the paper bags on the kitchen counter and walked to where Draco was and grabbed his phone. "Hey!" Draco started but stopped when Hermione turned around to glare at him. She then placed the phone in one of the kitchen cabinets and locked it with a spell.

"What did you do that for?" asked Draco.

"You shouldn't be doing that," said Hermione, referring to the phone call he did so early in the morning.

"And why is that?"

"Because, you've been doing that same boring thing every day of your life for as long as you can remember," replied Hermione, walking towards the refrigerator and getting out a tub of butter.

"Well, some of us have important things to do than just sit around and do nothing," said Draco, trying to get pass Hermione to get back his phone.

Hermione blocked him and placed one hand on his chest. "Well, I think that this is one of those important things," she said as she reached up and kissed him lightly.

"So," started Draco as he walked away from her towards the living room and stuffing a piece of bacon in his mouth. "Where are my clothes?"

"Good morning to you, too," muttered Hermione as she placed the tub of butter on the table.

"Where are my clothes?" he repeated.

"Oh, I threw them away," answered Hermione, lathering her pancake with butter.

"You WHAT!"

"But I got you these, instead," she said grinning as she walked to the paper bags she was holding when she came in. She pulled out a pair of brown boots, a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a sweat shirt. "Oh, yeah," she said and threw the clothes to Draco. "Put them on. I'm sure you'll look good in them."

Draco hesitantly picked up the clothes Hermione gave him. He eyed them a bit with distaste but he didn't want to go out of Hermione's flat wearing only boxers. So he had no choice as he put them on reluctantly.

Just then, a man near his age went inside Hermione's flat. He was tall but not as tall as Draco was and had a mop of jet black hair that was sticking out everywhere. He had the most vivid green eyes that were hidden behind a pair of glasses.

"Is this all the coffee you got, 'Mione?" the man asked as he went straight for the kitchen towards Hermione, not noticing that Draco was in the living room. He was holding a thermos full of coffee, Draco presumed.

"Yep. So sorry. I forgot you don't like it with hazelnut essence. I promise to get you the original black you like," replied Hermione as she went to get herself a cup of coffee as well.

"You're looking very sexy today, I noticed," the man said as he placed his hand on Hermione's back.

"Am I?" said Hermione grinning. Draco had the sudden urge to go walk up to the man and swat his hand away from Hermione but he remained where he was. _Where the hell did that come from? _ He wondered.

"Hmmm… And smelling very nice, too," the man told Hermione as he leaned forward and sniffed Hermione wherein she giggled. That did it for Draco. He cleared his throat and when both of them turned to look at him, Draco pointedly glared at the man first, then to Hermione, then back to the man.

The man was amused to see Draco in Hermione's living room. He looked at Draco from head to toe and whispered loudly to Hermione, enough for Draco to hear, "He looks really good, 'Mione. Good enough to eat as I'm sure you already did." Hermione said nothing but laughed a little, her eyes not straining away from Draco.

"Hello," the man said as he approached Draco. "You must be November. I'm Harry." Harry reached out a hand for Draco to shake but Draco didn't take it and instead just gave him a nod. "And quite charming, too," he said to Hermione, dropping his outstretched hand.

"Yep," replied Hermione, taking a fork and slicing her pancake with it. "That's Draco, Harry."

"Ah… Draco Malfoy?" asked Harry and Hermione nodded. "Well, enjoy your stay here then, Draco. I'm sure it will be fabulous. Oh, and keep the sweat shirt," he said as he noticed Draco zipping up the sweat shirt. "It looks better on you than it does on me."

That said, Harry went back to Hermione and kissed her lightly on the lips. "I'll see you later, all right, love?" Then he went on his way outside of Hermione's flat.

"Who was that?" demanded Draco, his eyes still on the door where Harry went out. Hermione couldn't help but smile. _Oh, this is really going to be interesting. If he only knew who Harry was._

"That's Harry," she replied, going back to her pancakes.

"I noticed. But really, who was that?"

"Why are you asking Draco? Do I sense some jealousy in those words?" she asked, her eyebrows quirking up.

Draco turned back to her and said, "No. But who was that?" he pressed.

"I told you that was Harry. My best friend. Happy now?"

Draco didn't reply. Instead, he pulled out his wand and unlocked the cabinet where his phone was and started for the door. Deep inside, he was happy that Harry was just Hermione's best friend even though he felt that there might be something else there. The parting kiss that Harry gave her was more than an indication to him. And he knew that if he spent one more minute in the same room where Hermione was, he would lose his resolve of '_just for tonight_' as he said to himself last night.

Hermione looked up from her eating when he heard Draco opening the cabinet she locked. She then saw Draco starting for the door. "Draco, where are you going?" she inquired.

"Home."

"But –" she started to say but Draco was already out of her door walking towards the street. "Draco!" she yelled and followed him out, wondering why he was walking outside instead of just Disapparating back to his flat if that's where he meant to go to.

"Draco! Wait up! Draco!" But Draco just kept on walking. Hermione said hello to everyone she passed that knew her but her eyes never strained away from Draco's retreating back.

"Hey, Hermione. Do you have change to spare?" asked an old beggar who walked up to Hermione.

"I just gave you those clothes, John. Would you be content for once?" answered Hermione.

Draco turned at that moment and saw the beggar, wearing his clothes. "Hey, those are my clothes! Hey, you!" Then John, the beggar turned and ran away from both of them. "Hey! Give me back my clothes!"

"Draco, please. Draco! Stop," pleaded Hermione.

"Those are my clothes, Hermione. One of my _best _clothes. And you gave them away to that – that beggar!" asked Draco, almost screaming.

"Yes. Isn't it nice to give?"

Draco didn't reply but turned around once more and walked away faster from Hermione. "Draco! Would you mind stopping? Please, Draco!"

Draco stopped walking when he heard her pleading with him but he didn't turn around. He waited for her to catch up with him before he did.

Finally reaching him, Hermione reached out to touch Draco but hesitated and dropped her arm instead. "Draco, why are you doing this? I thought we already had an agreement."

Draco turned to face her. "You know what, Hermione. I don't know why I even agreed to you in the first place," he said almost angrily.

Just then, Justin, a kid living across Hermione's flat walked up to them, an apple in one hand. "Hey, Hermione," he greeted.

"Hey, Justin."

Justin noticed Draco, standing beside Hermione and said, "Hi. You must be November. I'm Justin. I live across the street," he said then pointed to the small house right across from where Hermione's flat is located. "Anyway, I should be going. Later then, Hermione. See you around, November." And he skipped off.

"That's Justin. And he's about the most amazing and smart kid I've ever met. I think he's a half-blood. His mom's a witch but his dad is a Muggle. I think he'll be a brilliant wizard one day," said Hermione.

"What is this, huh!" Draco seethed. "Is this some community thing wherein you all gather together to perform some ritual every month!"

"No, Draco. Please. Just listen."

"Look, Hermione. I really don't understand this _help, _as you said this is that you are telling me."

"Yes, Draco. But sometimes, you don't need to understand. You only have to accept. And feel," explained Hermione, pleading with him to comprehend. "This entire thing that I'm doing for you is what you need. It'll be beneficial not only to you but for me as well."

"Oh yeah? And how will this be beneficial for you, then?" he snarled. Hermione sighed exasperatedly. _Not this again._

"We talked about this already, Draco. It'll be beneficial for me because it makes me happy to help you. Please. You do not need to rationalize everything. You just have to accept this," she said.

"You know what?" said Draco, incensed. "You know what, huh! I think this is just some random excuse you're making up so that you could get laid!"

Hermione was stunned at Draco's outburst and hurt as well at what he implied. She stared at him unbelievingly and then slowly, gathered her cardigan tighter about her, turned around and walked back to her own flat.

Draco sensed that he probably went too far with his last comment and immediately followed Hermione. "Hermione, wait! Hermione!"

Finally, Hermione stopped but still didn't look at him. "Look, I'm sorry Hermione," he said sincerely, turning Hermione around to face him. "That was low. What I said was low. You obviously have reasons as to why you are doing this but you must understand that I can't do this."

Hermione didn't reply. Draco sighed and said, "Fine. Ok. What is it that you want? I'll see if I can do anything about it."

"Time," replied Hermione after a few seconds. "But you don't have time. It's what I need from you, Draco. Your time."

Draco breathed in deeply and looked at her once more. "All right. I'll give you time. But I can only give you a day. Today."

"I'll take it," Hermione immediately said. "I'll take it, Draco." Draco smiled as she gave her one of her best smiles and took her hand to go back to her flat.

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_**(A/N: So sorry this took so long to put up. I know there should be no excuses to make about why I wasn't able to put this up asap but I've been so busy and all that. And yeah, I hope you like this chapter. And I adore reviews and hearing from you guys. And I'll stop now since I'm rambling and all that. And yeah – right. Like I said, I'll stop now.)**_


	8. The Time Spent

**Chapter 7 – The Time Spent**

Later that morning, Hermione and Draco went to the nearby park very near Hermione's flat and strolled around. Neither was talking but both were contented with the silence. When they reached a park bench, Hermione sat down before removing a bag of kernels from her pocket. Draco sat down beside her just as she threw several kernels on the way before her. Immediately, birds flew down and pecked on the kernels she threw. Hermione chuckled and watched as the birds ate. After the kernels were gone, most of the birds looked up at Hermione as if expecting more. She dug more kernels out and threw it once more. This time, the number of birds doubled and Hermione laughed.

Draco was watching Hermione with amusement in his eyes. He smiled when he saw her laugh at the more birds that flew towards them. One bird even had the audacity to land on Draco's head. When Hermione turned to look at Draco, she laughed so hard, she almost fell from the bench. Draco tried to shoo away the bird but every time he tried to shoo it, it just flew a few inches above his head and settled once more on his head. Finally giving up, he just slumped there at the park bench, arms crossed and let the bird perch on his head.

"You're not helping me out here, Hermione," he said, frowning at her.

"Oh, but you just look so cute there with that bird on your head!" she said while still laughing, she was already clutching her sides.

"Hmmrrmph…" Draco said and resumed frowning and pouting.

Pitying Draco, Hermione stretched forth her hand carefully and grabbed the bird. When she had it, she walked a few feet away from Draco and threw it in the air, letting it fly.

"Bye little bird!" She walked back towards Draco. "So much for having a bird for a hat."

Draco glared at her although jokingly and Hermione simply laughed once more. Hermione sat down beside Draco and cuddled closer to him. Draco opened his arms and let Hermione lean on him, her head immediately going to his shoulder. It felt so normal for Draco to hold her like that.

"So what's the point of all this, Hermione?" asked Draco, after a few short whiles of silence.

"The point?" she said, not rising her head, "The point is that this is life. What we are doing is the life. Happiness. Being carefree. Living life to the fullest."

"So you think that feeding the birds out here at the park and making fun of me is what happiness is all about?"

"Yes," she answered, "and no."

"Care to explain?"

"Yes, because life should always be lived that way. Carefree and by simply enjoying it. And no because life isn't always like that. It's ironic, I know," she told Draco as she looked up at him and gave him a peck on his jaw.

Draco stared back at her incredulously, trying to comprehend what she just said. "I told you not to think much about it, Draco. It'll only drive you, nutters," said Hermione, grinning. She stood up from the bench and ran towards the birds in the park, making them all fly away and around her.

Draco shook his head at Hermione's antics but smiled nonetheless. He saw for the first time how Hermione clearly enjoyed her everyday life to the fullest, no matter how dubious she does it. He watched as she spun round and round, her arms outstretch, the birds flying around her. He heard her laughter and obvious joy at the littlest thing she was doing.

Hermione stood in the middle of the park, all the birds now gone and looked back at Draco. She noticed that he was staring at her the whole time she was with the birds. She smiled at him and grinned when he returned her smile. Skipping, she went back to him, stretched her hand out for him to reach and together, they walked out of the park hand in hand.

Later that night, Hermione and Draco were out on Hermione's terrace having an early dinner. Both of them had fun cooking their meal and Hermione was glad that she often got a laugh out of Draco's serious demeanor.

Halfway through their dinner, Hermione asked, "So, Draco. Tell me more about this that you do."

Draco munched thoughtfully on the chicken they cooked, swallowed before answering, "Well, I run the Malfoy Enterprises. We specialize in incorporating magic in most Muggle technologies so they could still be used in the magical communities. It's a booming business and we're doing global now. How about you?"

"Oh, I own a small business back at the US. I own a magical menagerie. I am so fond of animals as you probably noticed, magical or not. My roots are still from here in London but I thought of starting a business there, at the other side of the world," she answered.

"Why are you back now? And who's managing your business abroad?"

"My parents. And as to why I'm back – it's a long story. I heard you hire Muggles in your company," she said, changing the topic immediately.

"Of course. Who would better understand the Muggle technologies but the Muggles themselves as well as the Muggle-born wizards and witches," said Draco.

"That's very nice. I hope the witches and wizards that work for your company are discreet about their magic in front of the Muggles though. You know, the code of secrecy and all that," Hermione commented. Draco nodded his head in affirmation and replied, "They are very much warned about it. Immediate expulsion from the company if they violate that rule."

"That's good. But what does your family say about it?"

Draco stiffened at Hermione's question. People who work under Draco and those who were close to him, knew better than to ask that question as Draco didn't want to talk about it. Hermione, however, just looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. She knew about the Malfoy's reputation in the Wizarding community and was really wondering as to why Draco turned out the way he did.

Draco sighed. "Both my parents are gone so they don't have much say about it. My other relatives can do nothing about it since I was the only heir of the Malfoy fortune. They can always bicker with me, but they can't do anything about it since this is my decision from the very beginning," he replied, surprised at himself for talking to Hermione about his family.

"Tell me more about your immediate family."

Draco looked up at the sky before looking back at Hermione and answering. Hermione was smiling at him encouragingly. He smiled back, took a deep breath and launched his family history. "My father was an arse-hole. I mean, really. He was a bastard. I really didn't like him though I strived to be like him when I was younger. I thought that to be a Malfoy, I must be like my father. He tortures me when I don't meet his expectations. Both physically and mentally. As I grew older though, I realized that what he's trying to instill in my mind are the wrong things. Evil things. Little by little, I drew away from him, until finally – he died because of his service to this Voldemort, a dark wizard my father and several of his colleagues consider their Lord. I thought that what he did, everything that he did only went to waste. Everything was bullocks."

Hermione held his hand, the one atop the table and squeezed it assuring. He sighed once more and continued. "My mother was a dear though. Well, to me at least. She can be as cold as my father too, if she wanted to. But my father always hits her too. That much I know. She always tells me though that she got her bruises because she fell down the stairs, that sort of excuse. But I was not dumb. I knew my father hits her the way he hits me, too. My mother was a very graceful woman; I don't think she would fall off the stairs or bump her face by the door by accident, as she always tells me when I see her bruises. But I have pleasant memories about her also. She always sing to me before I went to bed when I was little."

Hermione stood up from her place and went to Draco's back. She started to massage his neck and upper back. "You are stressed, Draco. You need not continue if telling this is stressing you," she said softly, her hands working magic on Draco's tight knots at the back of his neck. Draco dropped his head to his chest, closed his eyes and sighed contentedly.

"My family and I lived in a manor," he continued on, not listening to Hermione. "If there's one thing the kids at my school envy, it was that. I live in a manor, a castle-like manor. But it was a cold manor. I didn't like staying there during the holidays. I'd rather go to my best mate's house than stay there." He stopped there and enjoyed Hermione's neck rub. Then he asked quietly, "What are you doing to me, Hermione? I never told this to anyone. Not even my best mate."

"Sshhhh… Relax, Draco. I am glad you shared this with me. I promise that I would keep this to the grave," said Hermione softly.

Draco slowly stood up and faced Hermione. He wrapped his arms around her waist and looked in her chocolate brown eyes. Hermione smiled at him serenely and leaned forward to kiss him lightly. "Now, come on. We still need to wash these dishes before the day really ends," she said as she untangled herself from Draco's arms. She started to get the plates from the table and Draco followed suit.

Once in the kitchen, Draco offered to wash the dishes to the astonishment of Hermione. She grinned and exclaimed, "The mighty Draco Malfoy? Offering to wash my dishes? When we could just use magic? Indeed!" Draco simply chuckled and proceeded with his task. "It's a form of stress-reliever for me, believe it or not," he explained. Hermione only raised her eyebrows.

Hermione sat on the floor beside Draco while he was washing the dishes. It dawned on her that their time together was already nearing an end. She looked up at him and asked, "So, what will you do when you get home?" Draco just shrugged and continued on washing the dishes.

"I know what you will do," said Hermione. Draco glanced at her sideways but didn't say anything. "You will get back inside your flat. Contemplate on what will happen to work tomorrow. Get bored. Fix yourself a cup of coffee. Get bored. Open your laptop, browse through it. Get bored. And think of me."

When Draco was back in his flat that night, he did exactly what Hermione said to him while he was washing the dishes. While sitting in his kitchen table with his laptop in front of him, he thought of Hermione and how much she did for him with just spending one day with her. He wondered if he stayed with her for more than just one day of how Hermione would have affected his life more.

He smiled at the thought of Hermione with the birds just early this morning. With that, he made a decision.

He closed his laptop, proceeded to his bedroom, got out a few things and clothes, threw it on his bed and packed them. From there, he Apparated back to where it all began.

Arriving at Hermione's flat, he walked stealthily towards her bedroom so as not to wake her up, passing Ernie and giving him a quick pet on the head. Once in Hermione's bedroom, he took in her sleeping figure first and noticed how she slept so peacefully with a smile on her face. Quietly, he removed his shoes, walked towards the bed and laid down beside her.

Hermione woke slowly and felt someone's arms encircling her. She turned and found herself face to face with, "Draco? What are you doing he – ?" She was silenced by Draco kissing her lightly. "Sshhh… Sleep for now. I'll be here when you wake up. And this time, I promise to stay," said Draco.

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**_(A/N: So sorry this took so long to put up. Anyway, it's up now and I hope you enjoyed it. Read and review!)_**


	9. The Beginning of Everything

**Chapter 8 – The Beginning of Everything**

Draco awoke and turned around to feel the coldness by his side and that there was no one beside him. Hermione was already up. Slowly, he got up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He wasn't able to change his clothes last night when he went back to Hermione and so he didn't need to dress up. He walked to the bathroom opposite Hermione's bedroom to do his usual morning routine before walking out to the kitchen where he found Hermione making breakfast.

When Hermione saw him enter the room, she smiled and said, "Good morning, sleepyhead. Looks like someone slept soundly last night." She took out the ham and eggs from the frying pan and got some toasted bread out of the toaster. "What do you want this morning to drink? Coffee or juice?"

"Coffee."

Hermione busied herself with making Draco's coffee when she felt his arms encircling her waist. "Hey," he said, before planting a kiss on her pulse point.

"Hey, yourself," she replied. "I've got your coffee here now."

"I'd rather have you for breakfast," he said teasingly, not letting go of Hermione.

"Draco!" she turned and reprimanded him but was chuckling though. "I have to go see Justin today."

Draco slowly released Hermione, took the cup of coffee and went back to the table. He sat down just as Hermione was placing the plate of ham and eggs on the table. "Oh, so now you're trading me for that boy? Is he going to be your new November then?" he asked with amusement in his voice.

Hermione laughed as she sat with Draco on the table and Draco grinned when he heard her laugh. "Honestly, Draco. Of course not. You are still _my _November. I only promised that I would go to his boat competition today. His dad got him hooked up in making remote-controlled toy boats though his mom was not really happy with the mess he continually makes because of it."

Draco's eyes lit up at the mention of remote-control. He was out for anything that was related to Muggle technology that can be of help to his business. He took some toast and nibbled on it before asking, "Can I come with you?"

Hermione smiled. "Of course you can. I think Justin would be thrilled to see you there." She got up and went to the refrigerator to get some mayonnaise.

Draco stood up and went behind her, encircling his arms once more around her. He then whispered in her ear, "Thank you, Hermione."

Hermione turned around and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Don't thank me yet. We are only at the beginning."

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Draco and Hermione walked hand in hand towards the harbor where the kids and their parents are gathering up for the competition. Hermione quickly scanned the area and saw Justin at the further end looking forlorn and alone. She immediately walked towards him, pulling Draco with her.

"Hey, Justin. What are you doing here all by yourself? Where's your mum and dad?" she asked.

"Oh. Hey, Hermione. I'm glad you could make it," he replied, smiling brightly when he saw Hermione. "Dad got sick. Really sick that it became so scary and Mum had to take him to the hospital immediately. I wanted to come with them but she said she knows Dad would want me to win this competition for him." He looked at Draco and said, "Glad you could make it, too November."

Draco knelt down in front of Justin so he could be face to face with him. "It's Draco, Justin. Call me Draco. And I hope your dad gets well soon." Justin smiled at him and said "Thanks."

"What's this boat you have here?" asked Draco and Justin immediately explained to a fascinated Draco his whole boat and how he did it. "And I invented it all by myself!" Justin proudly finished.

Just then, the competition master announced that the game was about to start and that everyone who joined should lay down their boats on water.

Draco stood up and patted Justin on the head. "Do your best out there, kiddo."

Justin looked up at him and smiled. "I will. This is for you, Hermione."

Hermione smiled. "That's so sweet of you, Justin. Now, go out there and win this competition for your dad!"

While Justin was on his way to the water with his little boat, Draco heard some of the big kids taunting him. They were saying that he shouldn't be entering the competition with his boat meant for babies. They made fun of him and laughed at him. Justin, with his head bent down, went back to Hermione and Draco and said, "I don't think I still want to enter the competition."

"Now, Justin," started Hermione. "Just because the big kids are telling you off doesn't mean you are not better than them. Prove them wrong."

"That's right, Justin," chimed in Draco.

Justin slowly smiled and turned around towards the water. He took a deep breath, let it out and put on a brave face. "Ok, I will." Then he walked towards the water and placed his boat next to the big boats the other kids have.

"On the count of three!" the announcer shouted. "Three, two, one, GO!" And all the boats took off. The big kids were leading their way around the paddock, pushing Justin most of the times out of their way.

Draco saw this and decided to do something about it. He told Hermione that he would go around just to see how the kids were doing as they got around the harbor. Hermione nodded and cheered Justin on along with the other parents.

Draco walked a good deal farther away from the Muggles and when he was sure that no one could see him, he got out his wand and muttered a spell. One by one, the boats of the big kids around Justin's boat capsized and fell.

"Hey! What is wrong with my boat?!" He heard one of the big kids yell. He continued to do what he was doing until finally, it was Justin's boat that finished the finish line. Draco, satisfied with what he did, went back to Hermione to cheer Justin on.

When Justin got his boat from the water, he walked to where Hermione and Draco were, grinning. "I did it, didn't I?" he asked proudly.

"Yes, you did. And marvelously, may I add," said Draco, ruffling Justin's hair.

"Thanks for being here with me today, Draco, Hermione."

"No problem, kiddo," said Hermione.

Later that day, Hermione and Draco were walking Justin home. When they reached Justin's place, he said, "Well, this is where I live." He turned to face them. "Thank you again for today. I'll see you guys around, ok?" He walked towards his front door and waved back towards Draco and Hermione. They both waved at him and when he went in, walked towards Hermione's flat.

"You did a wonderful thing out there, Draco. Helping Justin," commented Hermione, weaving her arm around Draco's. "But the way you did it wasn't."

"What do you mean?" asked Draco.

"You cheated," she said bluntly that made Draco face her as they entered her flat.

"What?!"

"I saw you back there, Draco. Justin won because you made those boats of the other kids fall into the water, making it look like they had trouble with their boats," she said.

Draco sighed. "Well, what do you want me to do? Do you want those other kids who were taunting him to win? I sure as hell wouldn't want that. I gave him a boost."

"Yes, I know you did but the way you did it was wrong. He should have won it by himself. Even if he lost, at least – he tried his best to win without any help," she explained. "Ok, let's not talk about this any longer then," she continued when she noticed Draco's demeanor changed at her words. "I think there's something more important that we should discuss."

Draco looked up towards her and noticed her smiling slyly. He grinned at the predatory walk she was making towards him. "And what do you have in mind, Miss Granger, that's so important to discuss this morning?"

She didn't answer but instead led Draco to her bedroom, shutting the door when she had the both of them inside.

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For the next couple of weeks, Draco and Hermione enjoyed each other's company. Making trips to the Muggle Mall and having Hermione laugh at Draco for the innocence he showed while ooohh-ing and ahhh-ing at the different sceneries they saw that was new to Draco.

Hermione made Draco take the subway while Draco compared it to the Hogwarts Express that he was able to ride in when he visited Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry once. He complained that it was crowded and a bit smelly and there was no food trolley passing by. Hermione struggled not to laugh at Draco's indignant face when a homeless bum bumped them on his way out. Whenever he would scowl, Hermione would just lean in and kiss him softly making him give her a soft smile in return.

They were usually at the park that was near Hermione's flat jogging in the morning or taking silly walks in the moonlight or simply sitting there by the park bench and observing the people around them, making small talk or casual talk whenever necessary or simply enjoying each other's company even in silence.

Hermione was sure that in a couple of weeks more that Draco will become a changed man. Draco on the other hand, was already having the time of his life with Hermione and was already thinking that he doesn't want this to end after just a month.

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_November 14, Thursday Morning_

Hermione woke up and groped for Draco and found that she was alone in her bed. Slowly, she opened her eyes and stretched. She heard running water in the bathroom across from her room and grinned. She decided to join Draco for a quick morning shower. She was on her way when she suddenly heard the water stop and Draco speaking.

"…I know, Blaise. Yeah. Yeah. Ok. The Hilton you say? Lobby? All right. I'll be there in 20."

Curious, Hermione peeked at Draco inside the bathroom. He was just closing his mobile phone and she was surprised to see him all dressed up corporately, he could actually pass off as a wealthy Muggle businessman. Draco was tying up his necktie when he saw Hermione by the doorway.

"Hey there beautiful," he greeted. "I didn't hear you get up." He finished tying his necktie and went to her for a Good Morning kiss but she ducked out of the way.

Hermione scowled at Draco's attire. She was stomping her foot impatiently and raising one of her eyebrows at him. "Hermione, this is –"

"I know what this is, Draco," Hermione cut him short. "But haven't we talked about this already? That while you are with me, none of this work things and business associates whatsoever is going to happen? Didn't we agree on that?"

Draco sighed. "I know but this is really important. I can't let Edgar Moore pass. You know that it's vital for my company."

"I don't care, Draco! And how did you even manage to get your mobile phone out of the kitchen cabinet? I placed a strong locking spell on that."

"Even I know what spell to use to open your strong locking spell," he grinned in reply.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "If you go through this Draco then I don't think we should continue this anymore."

"But Hermione –"

"I mean it, Draco." And with that she walked away from the bathroom and back to the bedroom where she closed the door silently.

Draco heaved another sigh. For some reason, he wanted not to go through with the meeting but knew that he has to for the sake of his company. He couldn't afford to lose another account and he was counting on getting Edgar Moore to get his company back on track. With one last look at the bedroom door, he Apparated to The Hilton Hotel Lobby with a silent pop.

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Hermione resisted the urge to sob and cry. She was stronger than this. But she just knew that if Draco went to that meeting that he would just forget what they've shared for the past couple of weeks and go on living the life he lived before he met her. Meaning that this will be the first time that she failed. That she wasn't able to get through to Draco the simplicity of life that she wants to share with and make him understand.

When she heard the silent pop of his Disapparition, Hermione slid down by the bedroom door and let the tears that were already threatening to fall, flow.


	10. The Decision Made

**Chapter 9 – The Decisions Made**

Draco Apparated to the nearest and safest Apparition point near The Hilton Hotel in London. After arriving at that point, he walked all the way to the lobby of the hotel which was a good 3 blocks away. Once at the lobby, he scanned the people that were already there. Upon seeing Blaise with presumably Edgar Moore, he walked towards them with a purpose.

The two gentlemen stood up when Draco neared them. Blaise introduced the two of them and after a fluff of handshakes, sat down to business. Draco assessed the older man that they were meeting. He seemed to be someone who knows his way around the business. He also seemed arrogant and proud. He was the kind of person that would look down on anyone that he thinks is below him. He was also a pureblood. Draco had no doubt that this man and his father would get along quite nicely. And after a while, Draco was struck at how he could have been Edgar Moore in the future if he hadn't met Hermione.

_Hermione. _He thought. She changed his life and he would be forever grateful. In the two weeks that they were together, a lot of things had already happened. And for the first time in his life, he could truly say that he was happy. But then he remembered about his promise. And how he broke that this morning when he left.

"I am willing to invest 2 million Galleons in your company, Mr. Malfoy," Edgar Moore was saying. They were already at the middle of the meeting. Upon hearing that, Blaise turned to Draco and gave him a huge grin. Draco continued staring at Edgar Moore.

"I am glad about that, Mr. Moore. That will immensely help our enterprise and will help yours as well with the equipment that we carry," replied Draco. He then signaled for one of the waitresses for another round of coffee.

The waitress hurried over to their table with a pot of coffee on her tray. Upon reaching them, she tripped and accidentally spilled some on Edgar Moore. Mr. Moore flinched and was a bit surprised but remained seated. He looked up at the waitress with a menacing face.

"Oh my god! I am so sorry, sir! I didn't mean to –" she hurriedly got out her washcloth from her back pocket and dabbed it at Mr. Moore's shirt and tie which was drenched in hot coffee.

"Are you new here, my dear?" Moore asked her softly. The waitress nodded. "You are very beautiful, do you know that?" The waitress gave him a small smile and withdrew her hand with the cloth from his shirt and tie.

Draco observed the interaction between Moore and the waitress. He felt chills run down his back because he once heard the Dark Lord that his father served before speak like that to his followers. He was starting to dislike the man although he knew he needed him for his company. His company's stock was at stake and he knew that Blaise wouldn't forgive him if he didn't go through with this.

"You do know though that you are a waitress here, right?" Moore continued. The waitress once again nodded. "And you do know that waitresses have to perform their duties appropriately by delivering food properly, waiting on tables for the customers and by not spilling anything on important people who pays for your wages." The waitress wasn't speaking but Draco could see that she was on the verge of tears. "If we don't do our respective work properly, how is the world going to function well? You are just a waitress. I am an important businessman. Be thankful that I am not going to report this incident to your manager."

The waitress, having heard enough, simply gave another nod and walked away swiftly from their table. Draco followed her with his gaze and once she was at her post, he saw her break down and a fellow waitress comforted her.

Draco looked back at their table and saw Moore writing something on a piece of napkin. "I want to add this more as a bonus for you. But it would be just between us three. In return, I want to have the best of your technology and equipment. I would be expecting that," said Moore and then he slid down the napkin towards Blaise and Draco.

Blaise looked at the napkin and his eyes grew wide. He urged Draco to do the same. Draco saw that Moore had written 3 million Galleons on the napkin making their deal up to 5 million which is more than enough to save his enterprise.

As Draco pondered, however, about the deal that he was about to close – he suddenly realized that he didn't want to work with this kind of person who looks down on everyone that was beneath him. He thought of how this person would react if Moore went to his building and see the Muggles and Muggleborns working there. Draco wondered if Moore would still keep his end of the deal after he sees that. He had no doubt that Moore would not.

Draco closed the napkin and pushed it back to Moore. Blaise was looking at him questioningly. "I am sorry, Mr. Moore. But I think I spoke to the wrong person today," he said, looking at Moore squarely in the eye. Edgar Moore didn't even blink or back down from Draco's stare. "I do not think that we would be able to do business although I appreciate the offer."

He stood up and fixed his suit, buttoning it up. Blaise gaped at him with his mouth open not believing what he just heard. Edgar Moore simply sat there and looked at Draco with a hint of a smirk on his otherwise guarded face. "Good day, Mr. Moore. Blaise," said Draco, nodding to each man and walked away from the table.

Draco was walking leisurely back towards the Apparition point near The Hilton Hotel when he heard Blaise calling him. He stopped and turned around to face his partner and long-time friend. "Yes, Blaise?"

Blaise was furious. He wanted to bellow and yell at Draco for the decision that he made with Edgar Moore. Of course, he really couldn't question the CEO's decision but foregoing 5 million Galleons was something that he just couldn't let pass. He walked right to Draco's face and almost shouted "Are you mad?!" Draco just shrugged nonchalantly, turned around once more and continued to walk. Blaise walked alongside him.

"Why did you do that Draco? What made you do that? Did you even realize that you're letting go of 5 million Galleons? That's _5 million Galleons_, Draco! 5 million _bloody _Galleons!" exclaimed Blaise.

"I realized that Edgar Moore is not the kind of person I want to work with. Did you see the way he talked with that poor waitress at the hotel? I don't think that he'll tolerate our employees and other staff members after that incident and I wouldn't want that," explained Draco. "It's my decision, Blaise. My _final _decision."

Blaise looked at him incredulously. "Since when did you think about that huh? You used to be all about the stocks in the company and how we can get more accounts to always be on top. And now – you're turning that away? What has gotten into you?"

Draco didn't reply. He continued on walking and was almost near the Apparition point when what Blaise said made him stop. "Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no," said Blaise, shaking his head and catching up with Draco's quick strides. "It's a girl, isn't it? You have someone new after Pansy, is that it? That's where you're disappearing to this past couple of weeks. And she has you twisted around her hand! For Merlin's sake, what has she been feeding you, huh?"

Draco turned around and Blaise was surprised to find his best friend glaring at him ominously. "Don't talk about her like that. You don't know her. You don't know anything about Hermione."

"So that's her name! Hermione!" called Blaise, a bit triumphantly, when Draco walked again and then disappeared with a silent pop.

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Draco appeared at the middle of Hermione's living room. "Hermione?" he called but no one answered. He loosened his tie and shrugged off his coat. He rotated his neck to ease the tension and plopped down on the couch. He closed his eyes and rested his head. He knew he made the right decision of not going through the business with Moore. He wouldn't be able to work with the man anyway. Let Blaise get mad at him but he couldn't question the CEO's decision on that matter. Even if it does sound ludicrous to probably most if they heard of what just transpired a while and what his final decision was.

Draco stood up and stretched. He walked towards the bedroom and smiled at the little mess that clearly stated Hermione was just there. Her bathrobe was on the edge of the bed. Her slippers were beside the bed near the bedside table. Cosmetics and other female paraphernalia were strewn across the vanity table. Her bath towel was hanging by the door. Some clothes were thrown across the bed. Draco chuckled. Hermione must have had a hard time deciding on what to wear if the clothes that were on their bed indicate something.

_Their _bed.

Draco caught himself just as he was shrugging out of his slacks and shirt. He just thought of the bed as _theirs. _He smiled once more and thought of how Hermione was changing everything that he views about life. He wasn't sure if that was for the good or bad but it makes him feel good about himself so he presumes it was for the good.

As he changed his crisp clothes into something more comfortable, he wondered where Hermione was. He just wanted to thank her once more for everything that she had been doing for him. Tying his tennis shoes on his way out, he looked around the little flat that he and Hermione was sharing for the last couple of weeks and smiled again. It was getting easier and easier for him to smile these days, he thought ridiculously and chuckled.

Draco walked down the street and saw Justin playing with his ball by the side street, looking forlorn. He approached him and ruffled his hair, sitting down beside him. "Hey, kiddo," he greeted.

"Hey," replied Justin without enthusiasm.

"Why the long face, buddy?"

Justin heaved a big sigh. "My Dad is in the hospital again. Mum said that he was having a heart attack. I do not know what that is but it seems pretty serious. I was so scared a while ago Draco when my dad suddenly just collapsed and fell flat on his back during breakfast."

Draco draped his arm around the little kid's shoulders and pulled him closer. "Your Dad's going to be all right. Did your Mum take him to St. Mungo's?"

Justin shook his head. "No. Mum said that she doesn't think St. Mungo's would be able to treat the kind of sickness Dad has. Plus imagine what he would think if he wakes up in a magical hospital. He would probably freak out."

Draco raised his eyebrows at that statement. "But your Dad knows that your Mum is a witch, right?"

"Yep, he does," answered Justin nodding. "But he's really not that used yet with all the magic she sometimes does around the house."

Draco nodded and both of them fell silent although the silence was comfortable. After a while, Draco urged Justin to go with him to buy some ice cream from across the street. Justin hesitantly agreed but went with him, anyway.

As they were walking toward the flat where Justin lives, Justin perked up and looked at Draco while licking his ice cream cone. "Say, Draco. Are you doing anything next Thursday?"

"No. None at this moment, why?"

Justin turned around to look at him as they reach his home. "Because I need to have a dad next week at school," he said somewhat shyly. "We gotta present our parents or guardians to our classmates and tell them why they are the best for us in the world. And since my Dad or my Mum most probably couldn't come…"

Draco was pleasantly shocked at what Justin was trying to tell him. He knelt down in front of the little boy and smiled. "Sure, Justin. I'll gladly go with you next Thursday."

The little boy's face lit up and he grinned. "Great!" he exclaimed. Then on an impulse, he hugged Draco, much to Draco's surprise and ran up the stairs to where his home was. "I'll see you then, Draco. Bye!"

Draco waved his hand in response. He felt really good all of a sudden. He was whistling on his way back home when he suddenly had an idea. He grinned to himself and walked faster. He couldn't wait to see the look on Hermione's face once he accomplished what he was about to do.

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Hermione was exhausted. She'd been doing errands all day long to keep her mind off Draco. She went to the pet shelter to take a look at the animals that needed care and volunteered to help out. Then she did a bit of grocery shopping afterwards. She visited Harry and Ron for a short while but declined when they invited her to have dinner with them. All she wanted to do now was flop in bed, sleep the night away and forget about Draco for tonight.

She walked up to her flat, her feet trudging behind. She unlocked her door and a surprised gasp suddenly came out of her. Her flat was transformed into a very romantic fairy tale setting. Candles were floating all around the room, giving the whole flat a yellow-orange glow. Flowers were all around and rose petals were scattered on the floor. There was soft music playing in the background. In the middle of the living room, there was a dinner table set for two completely adorned with crystal and silver utensils. Beside it was another small table where she presumed the food was contained with the wine bottle being chilled in a wine and ice bucket. She walked towards the table and fingered the silver.

She gaped at the whole scene and suddenly, a smile graced her features. When she turned around, she saw Draco standing by the balcony, all dressed up holding one long-stemmed white tulip in his hand.

He walked towards her and gave her the tulip which she shyly accepted. "You're as unique as a tulip. I didn't want to give you any roses since they are very common." He took her right hand and kissed it. "And you're not common. You're special," he said softly and looked deeply at Hermione's eyes.

Hermione gave him a genuine smile, touched that he would do this for her. "Why all of these, Draco?"

Draco led her to one of the chairs, pulled it out for her and pushed it when she sat down. "I just want to do something special for my girl," he replied cheekily.

Hermione's eyebrows rose at the words _my girl_ but didn't comment on it. When Draco served them their dinner, she commented, "I think you just want me to forgive you for this morning."

Draco almost missed Hermione's glass as he was pouring the wine but was able to recover quickly. Once he sat down opposite her, he stared at her and said seriously, "I realized that there is more to life than just getting all the big money in. That life cannot be just that, work for success. Sometimes, little things like a bird in the park…" Hermione smiled at this, remembering Draco when a bird sat on his head. "Or a balloon flying in the sky or this simple dinner served between two people who adore each other, are more important."

Hermione looked down at her plate, not knowing what to say. Draco reached over and tilted her chin up so they were looking at each other. "And you made me realize all that," he continued quietly. "Thank you." And with that, he leaned over and kissed her softly then intensely, their dinner forgotten quite easily.

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**_Dedicated to PTP. You don't know me as I know you. You don't see me as I see you. But I'm content with knowing that you can be there for me when I need you._**


End file.
